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It was St. Patrick's Day 1997 and Tom Kutza's talk program on WISL hosted a very special guest for the holiday. His name was Joseph Shilpetski but on St. Patrick's Day he called himself Joseph John "The Polish Leprechaun" and he was live and very much in color in the WISL studios at Rock and Sunbury Streets in Shamokin.
According to a 1991 article in the Allentown Morning Call, Shilpetski was born in Centralia, PA and left the area in 1952 when the last of the mines closed. He ended up moving to Lancaster County looking for work, but Centralia remained very much a part of him.
In the article...

In August of 1964, WISL radio and Shamokin were catching their piece of the national spotlight, (well at least on some level), in the pages of a well known teen magazine. That summer Teen Life Magazine brought their traveling record hop parade to town, just in time for Shamokin's 150th anniversary celebration. Teen Life Magazine had their own DJ, "cleverly" named T.J. who traveled from town to town across the United States hosting record hops, many times bringing a music star or two with him.
This time, it was Shamokin's turn. Along with SMASH Records A&R man Doug Moody, T.J. met T.K,...

A couple months ago we were introduced to Tom Kollins and had the pleasure of spending some time on the phone reminiscing about his days at WISL. Tom provided a wealth of knowledge, some fascinating recordings and just plain good conversation. We are honored to present to you the Tom Kalinowski story.
Thomas Kalinowski's involvement with WISL radio goes back farther than anyone we have been able to interview for the WISL Hall of Fame. He was only 12 years old in 1948 when he auditioned with the Kelly Bogetti Orchestra for a live music spot at the station. Tom says that Kelly Bogetti billed...

January of 1998 marked the 50th anniversary of WISL radio. By this time the station was owned by Charles "Mick" Haggerty and was suffering the effects of a faltering local economy. Within a couple of years Morning Man and WISL cornerstone Tom Kutza would leave the station and move on as Northumberland County Tourism Director and the stations (AM and FM) would be sold and the AM taken dark.
While tough times lay ahead, WISL was celebrating 50 years and looking ahead with high hopes. To mark the occasion, News Item Staff Writer Mark Gilger put together a nice write up of the station for their...

Presented are a series of classic radio commercials for the Sun Ray Drug Store in Shamokin. Recorded in the early 1970's, these feature some familiar voices from the WISL airwaves including Dave Leonard, Dennis Edwards, Tom Kutza and more. These spots not only highlight the creative talent at WISL but also the good humor and lighthearted nature of Dave Donmoyer from Sun Ray. Thanks to Dave Leonard (Dave Horjnacki) for digging out these hilarious commercials.
Sun Ray Drugs - 11 o'Clock Low
Sun Ray Drugs - A Day at the Dentist
Sun Ray Drugs - Baseball
Sun...